The fighters in Bellator may not get the same respect and acclaim as their Zuffa-based brethren, but at least they have video evidence to back up their wild fight stories. Season six of our favorite Friday night fights marched on last night, and here’s how it all went down.

The rematch between Waachiim Spiritwolf and Marius Zaromskis was far more eventful than their initial clash, though the ending was just as unsatisfying. After spending the opening minutes pressed against the cage, Zaromskis took advantage of the space created by a ‘Tan’ Dan Miragliotta break to land a backward elbow that opened a small vertical cut between Spiritwolf’s brows. The Native American responded with a slam, but Zaromskis was immediately back to his feet. The pair spent the remainder of the round tightly clinched with Spiritwolf working very hard for short-lived takedowns. Round two looked less promising for Waachiim, who had missed weight the day before. He showed signs of fatigue early on and had trouble finding the clinch at the end of his lunging punches. Zaromskis backed him up with a series of knees and kicks to the head, but a bloodied Spiritwolf responded with a torrent of heavy hands that forced the wobbled Lithuanian to retreat. Spritwolf downed him with another punch and closed out the final two minutes of the frame on top, trying to land finishing blows through Zaromskis tight defense.

Unfortunately, the battle would end on the stools and not the canvas. Cage-side physicians halted the bout between rounds due to Spiritwolf’s cut. We’ve seen some pretty messed up eyes and some real bloodbaths in our day, and this one didn’t really make the cut. Even MMA’s most respected physician, Dr. Hector Oscar Molina Dr. Johnny Benjamin questioned the stoppage, with the obvious caveat that he didn’t get to closely inspect the cut. Third time’s the charm, boys?

In their stead, Marcin Held and Derrick Kennington were bumped up from the undercard to clash on the main broadcast. Sensing that things may not go his way on the ground, Kennington took charge early on, clipping Held with a crisp uppercut in the opening moments of the bout. Fighting off his back, Held kept his composure and worked for an omaplata until D.K. pulled free to resume the bout on the feet where he enjoyed a clear advantage. Eager to hit the mat once more, Held pulled guard—to the joy of BJJ practitioners around the world—and quickly sunk in a heel hook. Back in Poland, Held’s grappling coach celebrated by flipping over a Fiat.

Marcos Galvao and Travis Marx had the honors of kicking off this season’s Bantamweight semifinals. The Brazilian was largely able to keep Marx on his heels by getting off first and landing the heavier strikes in their exchanges. Marx was the aggressor in round two, forcing Galvao back against the cage. From the clinch Marx landed with knees to the thigh and scored several combinations, though he fell short of getting Galvao to the ground. “Loro” resumed his aggressive striking in the third, and save for a brief takedown, regained control of the fight. Galvao scored the unanimous decision, 29-28, on all three scorecards.

Headlining the card was the Featherweight tournament championship between Daniel Straus and Marlon Sandro. Straus opened the bout with a crippling dick-kick that sent Sandro crashing to the canvas. It was doubtful that Sandro would be able to continue fighting/reproduce, but after the five-minute break he amazingly returned to action.

Straus was in control of this bout. In the exchanges he landed single shots then disengaged, and when the two tied up he controlled the clinch and threatened to take Sandro to the mat. The Brazilian tied up a standing arm triangle in the third, but Straus defended well and prevented Sandro from dragging him to the floor. Straus rallied back with a big slam and closed the round struggling for a rear naked choke. Straus took the unanimous decision and will now await the winner of the upcoming title bout between Pat Curran and Patricio Freire.

Cagepotato Comments

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I was confused as to why they stopped that fight. As the video continues they show a better shot of the cut and it is in danger of extending into the corner of his eye and possibly detaching his eyelid.

linzhanbz- May 12, 2012 at 12:57 pm

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theothermatthughs- May 12, 2012 at 12:12 pm

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